Friends of Freedom and Justice – Bilin
20 June 2008-The Israeli Army has used almost every weapon in their arsenal to impose their Apartheid on the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank. These weapons, which are often lethal, are used on the whole of the Palestinian population regardless of whether they are simply trying to lead a private family life or if they are resisting the occupation.
The Village of Bilin in particular has been struggling against the Apartheid Wall and the occupation for three consecutive years using peaceful resistance. Bilin has been holding weekly demonstrations with the participation of local villagers, internationals, and Israeli supporters. In return, the Israeli Army has used all manner of violent methods and weapons to silence the Bilin Resistance, even though Bilin’s approach has been non-violent.
This use of disproportionate and sometimes lethal force against peaceful resistance has been perpetuated by the Israeli High Courts decision to “legally” allow the use of live ammunition on peaceful Palestinian protestors, only barring the use of live ammunition when foreign nationals and Israeli Activists are present at these protests. The Israeli Army has now used live ammunition against Palestinian protestors in Bilin with the presence of Internationals and Israeli activists there, even in violating its own racist laws. This has lead to many serious injuries to the Bilin Villagers, such as Ibrahim Burnat, who was shot with three bullets in his thigh at last weeks protest.